The Humble Indie Bundle is a promotion that started in May 2010 and has reappeared several times since then. It's a collection of games from indie developers, that's sold as a download with no DRM (meaning you can copy it as much as you want). What sets it apart is that you can name your own price, or even donate the money to charity instead. And all of the games are cross-platform, meaning they work on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Well, the Bundle is back, and this time it's added a new platform: Android.
Yes, that means mobile
Google's open-source Android operating system is the one with the friendly robot mascot, which powers nearly all smartphones and tablets that aren't BlackBerries or iPhones/iPads. If your phone or tablet gets its apps from the Android Market, it's running Android (unless you modded your BlackBerry PlayBook to use it).
The Humble Indie Bundle apps aren't being sold on the Android Market. You buy them on the Bundle website, humblebundle.com, and then download and install them manually. It isn't hard, but you need to first open the menu on your home screen, tap on "Settings," tap on "Applications," then tap the "Unknown Sources" checkbox to allow it. This is what lets you install from outside the Android Market.
What about updates?
If you buy an app through the Android Market, you get free updates and can download them at any time. Updates are trickier for apps that you install from outside it, but according to Brandon Lancaster of Android Police, that shouldn't be a problem for the Humble Indie Bundle games. Two of the games will prompt you when there's a new update available, and "hopefully" the other two will follow suit. Meanwhile, the Humble Bundle people are "working on an Android app" that should help you keep track of your games.
Which games are included?
The four games that are part of this bundle are on all three computer platforms, as well as Android.
You can name your own price for the first three, which are Anomaly: Warzone Earth (a sort of reverse tower defense game), Osmos (a game where you play as a single cell which absorbs others), and Edge (a puzzle platformer where you roll a cube through a maze).
If you try to donate less than $1, it will show you a picture of an impoverished programmer, note that you have no heart, and not grant you the keys to unlock the games on Steam (which is an option for people who use that service). It will still let you download the games, though; you just won't be able to put them on your Steam account.
If you donate more than the average price -- currently $5.30 -- you get World of Goo as well, a physics-based puzzle game that requires you to build bridges and scaffolds.
All games include soundtracks, and can be installed as many times as you like. Demos of the Android games can be found here.
How long does it last?
The bundle offer ends at 6 p.m. EST Feb. 14.
Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
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